Background determines a person's success
A father's income determines his son's to a greater extent in Britain than in any other wealthy nation
London: A father's income determines his son's to a greater extent in Britain than in any other wealthy nation, with half of a high earner's "economic advantage" being transmitted to their children, a study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has found.
Its research painted a picture of a highly stratified society in Britain where background determines a person's success to a far higher degree than in almost any other rich country.
"Education is not as important for social mobility in Britain as for other countries. Class, to be honest, is the most likely explanation," said Romain Duval, head of division in the Paris-based OECD's economics department.
Social ladder
The study showed it is easier to climb the social ladder and earn more than one's parents in Canada than Britain. Opportunities for the poor in Britain to better themselves are harder to come by than in the US and France. And the link between a father's background and his son's future in Britain was three times greater than that found in Australia, Norway or Denmark.
The researchers found in Britain people whose fathers have a university degree earn on average 62 per cent more than the children of men whose education ended at upper-secondary level. In Europe, only in Portugal is that gap wider.
